as in maybe
it is possible
perchance he is playing the devil's advocate, and the opinions he has expressed are not actually his own
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Recent Examples of perchance
Because any driver worth their salt would figure this out and likely after perchance one time falling into this bit of a roadway trap, would avoid going that way entirely.
—
Lance Eliot, Forbes, 17 Oct. 2021
To sleep, perchance to heal A report in the journal Nature Communications adds to the list of sleep’s benefits.
—Magnus Wennman, National Geographic, 17 June 2019
To sleep, perchance to dream of a giant plate of nachos.
—Gray Chapman, SELF, 27 Mar. 2019
Its members liked to call themselves kleagles, goblins and other names of darkling potency, to meet in solemn 'konklaves,' burn a fiery cross upon a distant hill and, perchance, frighten a Negro child outnumbered 100 to 1.
—The Washington Post, AL.com, 10 Apr. 2018
Ah, to sleep, perchance … to shrink your neural connections?
—Christopher Wanjek, Scientific American, 3 Feb. 2017
Lance Eliot, Forbes, 17 Oct. 2021
To sleep, perchance to heal A report in the journal Nature Communications adds to the list of sleep’s benefits.
—Magnus Wennman, National Geographic, 17 June 2019
To sleep, perchance to dream of a giant plate of nachos.
—Gray Chapman, SELF, 27 Mar. 2019
Its members liked to call themselves kleagles, goblins and other names of darkling potency, to meet in solemn 'konklaves,' burn a fiery cross upon a distant hill and, perchance, frighten a Negro child outnumbered 100 to 1.
—The Washington Post, AL.com, 10 Apr. 2018
Ah, to sleep, perchance … to shrink your neural connections?
—Christopher Wanjek, Scientific American, 3 Feb. 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for perchance
Adverb
-
Then again, maybe that’s too much attachment to reality.—
CNN Money,
CNN Money,
30 Jan. 2026
-
Or, maybe, our first night of vigil for Alex Jeffery Pretti, will be a kind of wavering candlelight in the deep, dark moral and ethical power outage that is America, for so many near and far.—
Ed Bok Lee,
Literary Hub,
29 Jan. 2026
Adverb
-
Yet on Rough and Rowdy Ways, Dylan also reemerges as a restless, sometimes cordial, often corrosive analyst, agreeing at last to engage—if not fully to explain—the whats, hows, and, possibly whys of his creative life.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
29 Jan. 2026
-
Two sources, including one inside Iran, previously told CBS News that at least 12,000, and possibly as many as 20,000 people have been killed throughout Iran in the protests.—
Ramy Inocencio,
CBS News,
28 Jan. 2026
Adverb
-
No, the most probable outcome is some sort of controversial ending, perhaps with McIntyre interfering and costing either Fatu or Rhodes the match.—
Blake Oestriecher,
Forbes.com,
24 Jan. 2026
-
Carlson pressed, perhaps hoping to kindle a spark of recognition.—
Jason Zengerle,
New Yorker,
24 Jan. 2026
Adverb
-
Many Cuban Americans were mistreated and would probably like to return.—
Moriah Thomas,
CNN Money,
30 Jan. 2026
-
The problem is that person probably doesn't exist.—
Scott Thompson,
FOXNews.com,
29 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Perchance.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/perchance. Accessed 1 Feb. 2026.
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